#bergen_county

And the third lance is settled in each hand, and the flags lower again!

A deep breath, and another charge. She won't try the feint again. A direct shot...if she can land it.

Sadly, she cannot.

A twist, and the woman cries out something, and as Brekkee's lance misses, she Shoves UP at an angle and

...and Brekke takes the shot directly in the visor, snapping her head back and stopping her in place while Stormwake continues forward without her. She lands HARD on the ground.

Gasps!

A cry of alarm! Foul play!

"Mom!"

Well, technically it's a legal shot but hey

She is rolling to her side almost immediately after landing, working to get up, to get her sword if needed.

A warrior's instincts die hard.

Stormwake rears nearby ready to fight

The sidhe removes her own helmet and looks down . She is not that attractive by sidhe standards. Her beauty i s there, but she must have taken a rather plain woman beofre. A beast of one.

The woman looks down at Brekke and says "Fantastisk. Du er den tøffeste fienden jeg noensinne har møtt. Jeg føler meg heldig som er i live."

She drops the stump of her shattered lance and offers her hand

Gwen whoops! Ignoring the glare she gets from nadeen

Brekke blinks at the words, then takes the hand in a firm grasp. "Takk skal du ha. Du er fryktinngytende. Jeg har sjelden blitt uskadd."

Calanthe smiles, the cat that caught the canary.

"The winner is... Lady Doomwind!" The announcer speaks

Dagmar chews on her thumb, anxious.

Aiden frowns. “Bad form if she was aiming for the throat. Legal, and if it was a battlefield... but nasty. Effective, though.” He must admit. Looking to Nadeen, “Need you see to your companions?”

A deep breath. "Du har rett til å gjøre krav på hesten min. Jeg håper du vil godta løsepenger."

"Er du norsk? Åh! Så flott! Min engelsk er forferdelig."

the intimdiating woman beams for a moment, a real smile

Briar is shaking Gwenn’s arms in glee and cheering!

"En fantastisk hest, men baronen sier at jeg skal be om to fat med de gode greiene. Jeg vet ikke hvorfor, han sa bare at det ville gjøre dagen hans." Doomwind says looking a bit confused then shrugs

Brekke gives a grin and a nod.

And that last comment actually gets a rare reward: an honest laugh from the Chieftain.

"Avtalt!"

Siv breaks into laughter ,apparently eavesdropping

"We must.. talk of old country, Ja?" her accent IS thick, but obviously it bothers Brekke not "I..fear I will sound like .. bad film to your friends. But.. much honor? Ja?"

"Ja." A nod. "We will speak, and you must visit Rivervale, my Lodge."

"Ja," She agrees "Glad am I to hear.. he did not tell me this. No wonder he is smiling like selvtilfreds katt"

"Ha!" Brekke gives another brief laugh, and looks over to where Kealan stands.

“I hope you might come watch the races later, if you have time. I will be sure to see you dance, though Bluebell may command my applause else risk a week long sulk.” Aiden comments to Nadeen.

Celebrations break out... Brekke will, for the record, learn that while Doomwind is an Aesin, she's not in good standing with her house for her empathy for Bjorn 'the commoner lover' a house rebel, who was in a past life a relation. She misses Norway but feels no longer welcome. She was surprised that BAron Kealan was eager to have her come for a year as long as she fought in Pennons for Teaneck. She gets it now

Kealan? Kealan winks and bows!

And Nadeen says to AIDEN "Of course, it's only just! I May cheer her on myself some but may the best Varich win"

He bows, and smiles. “Bluebell may be surprised to find a house affiliation as part of her prize.” And heads off to speak to an official from the Joust. He wants to know more about that White stallion from earlier.

And arrangements are made for Doomwind's visit.

Aiden does not see himself as ..typical ofhis House, perhaps he's not the House Ideal he has told Nadeen. However, that silver tongue comes out in FULL as he ends up haggling for that horse that was too good for his master

And Siv says "Okay, did we just lose and mom is happy? Huh.. "A chuckle.

Vali says "I think the Baron knew they might be friends. Or at least have a lot to share. You sure she lost?"

Siv ponders "That was..almost wise, Uncle Vali"

"I have my moments.." He jumps as he walks near the bleachers "I swear something grabbed my ankle"

She rolls her eyes

He haggles, and even works to bring the price down, pointing out that the poor rider may well have imparted bad habits in a horse that are costly to break...

And damn it works... by the time he's done, he's got folks thinking he's doing them a favor

And he looks nearly as pleased as Calanthe - no, more, for this stallion is far better a prize than her bet winnings.

And Dagmar ? She has her Star and her mom is still the BEST COOK EVER!